CULTURE AND TAXONOMY OF CYATHUS EARLEI

Abstract

Cyathus earlei Lloyd is a Bird's Nest Fungus previously known chiefly from the American tropics. A more recent collection from Mexico is described and compared with older herbarium material. The Mexican collection yielded viable spores and this made possible a study of the fungus in culture. It shows marked similarity to C. olla Pers. in the mode of spore germination and the appearance of mycelium. Attempts to obtain hyphal fusions between mycelia of C. earlei and C. olla were unsuccessful; C. earlei is believed to be a distinct species although closely related to C. olla.